The present invention relates to a system for providing television schedule information, and more particularly to a television schedule information guide with capability for notifying and alerting a viewer when new or previously unavailable channels and services become available.
The number of television channels available to a user has grown dramatically within the last decade, primarily due to the availability of cable and direct broadcast satellite systems. As the number of programs of potential interest to the viewer has increased, a variety of electronic program guides have been developed to help the viewer select programs of particular interest. For example, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,706,121 and 5,353,121 each describes schedule information processing systems which provide the viewer with a convenient way to select programs based on viewer-supplied selection criteria.
With the advent of digital television, the number of channels available is increasing dramatically. For example, the typical analog cable service provides about 60 channels. In contrast, digital television service providers will be able to deliver on the order of 150 or more channels. Many of the new channels will likely not be recognized by a viewer, nor will it be easy for a viewer to identify a channel as being new, unless there is a simple and convenient way to inform and alert the viewer to new channels and services. Hence, it is desirable to provide a viewer with the ability to simply and conveniently determine newly available channels and services. It is also desirable to provide a viewer with a description of the new channels or services including the type of subject matter typically presented thereon.
The present invention is directed to a television schedule information system, and more particularly to a system with the capability for notifying and alerting a viewer when new or previously unavailable channels and services become available.
In one embodiment, the cable and direct satellite service providers supply the television schedule system operator with information regarding which channels have recently been added to viewer service packages. Based on the information provided by the service providers, the system displays a list of the newly added channels for the viewers perusal. Preferably, the new channels and services list is displayed when the user selects a new services icon on an interactive schedule guide, however, the new channels list may be automatically displayed when the schedule guide is accessed. The system also provides the viewer with the ability to obtain a description about each new channel or service, or to tune directly to a new channel from the description screen, for example.
These and other embodiments of the present invention, along with many of its advantages and features, are described in more detail in the text below and in the attached figures.